Super-Secret Super8

The Tiny Picture Club: Top Secret Rogues?

THE TINY PICTURE CLUB, a group of low-tech Portland filmmakers, exposes their latest round of interlocking Super 8 films to the public this week. I contacted a spokesman for this secretive group of cinematic superfiends via a high-speed encrypted data exchange. Answers to my questions were delivered days later by a uniformed agent of the federal government.

Q: The latest sUPER8UNDERGROUND show, Dreams, is billed as a collection of dreams on Super 8. Just how do club members extract their dreams to celluloid?

A: Without giving away too many trade secrets, we can say that we have created a dream-extraction device similar to a large orange-juicer. We then use the extracted "dream juice" in the Super 8 developing process.

Q: What should the audience expect from this experience, and how should they prepare themselves?

A: To prepare themselves for full-body exposure to cool, fun films, the audience should follow these precautionary steps:

1. Buy a pair of heavy prescription glasses from a thrift store.

2. Rub the lenses with 80-grit sandpaper.

3. Wear the glasses for one minute, then take them off for one minute. Repeat for one hour.

Q: Why shoot Super 8, when many independent filmmakers are moving to video?

A: What is this "video"? It sounds expensive. We love the roughness of Super 8. It has a look unlike any other film medium. The flicker, the pop, all that stuff adds to the aesthetic. It's sometimes blurry, usually grainy, and always beautiful. We love the old silent films, and the only footage most of us have of our childhoods is on Super 8.

Q: A live soundtrack is to be provided by Halide Audio Test. Who plays in this combo? What qualifies them to interpret dreams?

A: We scoured Portland for the dreamiest, most experimental musicians, kidnapped them all, and brought them to our secret hide-out. They play a saw, a cello, an analog monophonic synth, an effects guitar, and samples. After weeks of rigorous training, fasting, and meditation, the members of Halide Audio Test are now ready.